Ministry of Justice

Prisoners

Lord Hylton: To ask His Majesty's Government whether they will publish a breakdown of the current prison population by length of sentence.

Lord Bellamy: The Ministry of Justice publishes a breakdown of the prison population by length of sentence as part of the Offender Management Statistics Quarterly.The information requested can be found in the table attached.Prison population by custody type/sentence length (xlsx, 18.8KB)

Prisoners' Release

Lord Hylton: To ask His Majesty's Government how many inmates are released from prison each year.

Lord Bellamy: During 2022, there were 46,034 prisoner releases from determinate and indeterminate sentences.Data on prison releases is published regularly as part of the Offender Management Statistics Quarterly.

Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office

Syria: Sanctions

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: To ask His Majesty's Government what consideration has been given to broadening the general licencegranted in relation to the Syria sanctions (1) beyond the current six-month timeframe, and (2) to cover all humanitarian assistance necessary,in order to address new and existing needs in Syria.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: In February the UK Government published two General Licences to facilitate earthquake relief efforts in Syria and Turkey. These built on an existing humanitarian exception for UK-funded persons by simplifying licensing for those conducting earthquake relief efforts. The UK will continue to monitor the situation in Syria through regular engagement with Non-Governmental Organisations and financial institutions and is committed to minimising any unintended consequences of sanctions, including through using our humanitarian licensing grounds where appropriate.

Uzbekistan and Xinjiang: Forced Labour

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask His Majesty's Government what assessmentthey have made of the report of Dr Adrian Zenz, Coercive Labor in the Cotton Harvest in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region and Uzbekistan, published in the Journal of Communist and Post-Communist Studies by University of California Press.

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask His Majesty's Government what conclusions they have drawn followingthe assertion in the report of Dr Adrian Zenz that "state-sponsored forced labor is characterized by pervasive state-induced and systemic dynamics of coercion that are deeply embedded within sociocultural contexts"in Xinjiang.

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask His Majesty's Government how they intend to respond to the findings of the report of Dr Adrian Zenz that "Xinjiang’s labor transfer program[...] is predominantly designed to achieve Beijing’s wider ethnopolitical goals in the region."

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: We are aware of Dr Zenz's recent report. To date, the UK Government has taken robust action in response to forced labour concerns. We have provided guidance to UK companies on the risks of doing business in Xinjiang, introduced enhanced export controls, and committed to introduce financial penalties for organisations that do not comply with modern slavery reporting requirements. Additionally, the Procurement Bill enables contracting authorities across the public sector to reject bids and terminate contracts with suppliers which are known to use forced labour themselves or anywhere in their supply chain. We continue to closely monitor the situation in Xinjiang and to keep our policy response under review.

Israel: Surveillance

The Lord Bishop of Southwark: To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have madeof the report by Amnesty International published on 2 May into the use of the Israeli military facial recognition system, Red Wolf, in mass surveillance and whetherthey supportthe call by Amnesty International for an end to mass and targeted surveillance in the Occupied Palestinian Territories.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: The UK has a regular dialogue with the Government of Israel on the conduct of its occupation of Palestinian territories. The UK respects the necessity of Israeli security measures as part of the occupation, but we continue to stress to the Israeli authorities that the impact of such security measures must not disproportionately impact the lives of ordinary Palestinians or their right to non-violent protest.

Sudan: Armed Conflict

The Marquess of Lothian: To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the current security situation in Sudan, and in particular of any escalation of violence in Khartoum between government forces and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF); how many British nationalsthey estimateremain in Sudan; and what action they are taking, together with international partners, to support the talks in Saudi Arabia aimed at securing a ceasefire and enabling humanitarian relief in Sudan.

Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park: The FCDO is pursuing all diplomatic avenues to secure a ceasefire of hostilities and the protection of civilians. We welcome the Jeddah Declaration signed by the Sudanese Armed Forces and Rapid Support Forces on 11 May. We will continue to support efforts to end the violence, de-escalate tensions and secure humanitarian access, including through our multilateral engagement with the Trilateral Mechanism (the African Union, the Intergovernmental Authority on Development, and the United Nations), and the Quad (Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, the UK and the US). We do not have verifiable data on British nationals remaining in Sudan. We advise all British nationals to monitor the Sudan Travel Advice which is updated regularly and includes the details of our 24/7 consular assistance helpline.

Humanitarian Aid

Lord Hylton: To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of aid from the UK, including through multi-lateral programmes, to Somalia, in particular in relation to (1) curbing piracy, (2) promoting civilian government, (3) disarming of militias, and (4) improving the economy; and to what extent they have collaborated with (a) the European External Action Service, (b) the African Union, and (c) other bodies, to achieve these goals.

Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park: The UK, in coordination with partners including the African Union, US, EU and the UN, is supporting the Federal Government of Somalia's programme to counter al-Shabaab and pursue economic and political reform. As the Debt Relief Champion for Somalia, we have helped unlock almost $2 billion of investments from the World Bank since 2020, strengthening Somalia's economy by improving the business environment, building critical infrastructure and improving access to finance. Since 2022, the UK has committed £47.5million to the African Union Transition Mission in Somalia (ATMIS), which has played a key role in supporting Somalia's security from the threat posed by al-Shabaab. The UK, alongside the European Commission and others, was instrumental in tackling the threat of piracy off the coast of Somalia and bringing a dramatic decline in attacks, including through its leading role in the Contact Group for Piracy and funding for the UN Office on Drugs and Crime's Counter Piracy Programme.

Home Office

Immigration Controls: Families

The Lord Bishop of Durham: To ask His Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the number of families with children that will be(1) detained, and (2) removed, under the Illegal Migration Bill in 2024.

Lord Murray of Blidworth: As set out in clause 1(1), the purpose of the Bill is to prevent and deter unlawful migration, and in particular migration by unsafe and illegal routes, by requiring the Home Secretary to return illegal migrants to their home country or remove them to a safe third country.An economic impact assessment will be published for the Bill in due course.

Asylum: Children

Lord Touhig: To ask His Majesty's Government under which legal provision the Home Office has assumed child protection powers for unaccompanied migrant children.

Lord Murray of Blidworth: We expect local authorities to meet their statutory obligations to children from the date they arrive in the UK. The best place for these young people is and will remain within a local authority care placement.The Home Office is not currently in the position of corporate parent to any unaccompanied child.There is nothing in the Illegal Migration Bill which changes this position.It will continue to be for the local authority where an unaccompanied child is located to consider its duties under the Children Act 1989.

Asylum

Lord Scriven: To ask His Majesty's Government which safe third countries they have made an agreement with for the purposes of processing asylum claims for people coming to the UK via irregular routes, as outlined in the Illegal Migration Bill; and how many individuals arelogistically possible to be processed in each in each of those countries in (1) 2023, and (2) 2024.

Lord Scriven: To ask His Majesty's Government which safe third countriesthey expect to make deals with in (1) 2023, and (2) 2024, for the purposes of processing asylum claims as outlined in the Illegal Migration Bill for people coming to the UK via irregular routes.

Lord Murray of Blidworth: We have agreed a Migration and Economic Development Partnership with Rwanda, whereby those arriving in the UK through dangerous, unnecessary, and illegal methods may be relocated there to have their asylum claim considered. This arrangement is uncapped.We are unable to comment on discussions or negotiations that may be being held with other countries.

Undocumented Migrants

The Lord Bishop of Durham: To ask His Majesty's Government what they plan will happen to a person whose protection or human rights claim is deemed inadmissible under Clause 4(2) of the Illegal Migration Bill but who cannot be removed from the UK.

Lord Murray of Blidworth: The purpose of the Illegal Migration Bill is to prevent and deter unlawful migration, and in particular migration by unsafe and illegal routes, by requiring the Home Secretary to return illegal migrants to their home country or remove them to a safe third country.Under clauses 2 and 5 of the Bill, the Home Secretary is under a duty to make arrangements for the removal of a person who meets the conditions in clause 2 as soon as is reasonably practicable.

Undocumented Migrants: Children

The Lord Bishop of Durham: To ask His Majesty's Government how many children they predict will be subject to the duty to remove under Clause 2 of the Illegal Migration Bill in 2024.

Lord Murray of Blidworth: The purpose of the Illegal Migration Bill is to prevent and deter unlawful migration, and in particular migration by unsafe and illegal routes.The duty to make arrangements for removal under clause 2 of the Bill only applies to children who are part of a family group. We do not inadvertently create incentives for people smuggling to target vulnerable individuals.

Undocumented Migrants: Detainees

The Lord Bishop of Durham: To ask His Majesty's Government what role, if any, the detention gatekeeper will have in relation to decisions to detain people under Clause 12 of the Illegal Migration Bill.

Lord Murray of Blidworth: The powers to detain are contained in clause 10 of the Illegal Migration Bill. The detention gatekeeper will continue to have a role in assessing an individual’s suitability for detention, in line with published policy.The detention gatekeeper works independently of both referring operational teams (for example Border Force, Immigration Compliance and Enforcement & others) and detained casework teams (National Returns Command, Foreign National Offenders Return Command and others) to ensure individuals only enter immigration detention where detention is for a lawful purpose and is considered to be a proportionate measure on the facts of the case.

Undocumented Migrants: Detainees

The Lord Bishop of Durham: To ask His Majesty's Government how many people they forecast will be detained under the powers contained in Clause 12 of the Illegal Migration Bill in (1) 2024, (2) 2025, and (3) 2026.

Lord Murray of Blidworth: The purpose of the Illegal Migration Bill is to prevent and deter unlawful migration, and in particular migration by unsafe and illegal routes.Those who arrive illegally will be liable to detention and will be swiftly removed to their home country or to a safe third country. The powers to detain are contained in clause 10 of the Bill.

Undocumented Migrants

The Lord Bishop of Durham: To ask His Majesty's Government whether people who meet the four conditions in Clause 2 of the Illegal Migration Bill who make a (1) protection, and (2) human rights, claim will undergo an asylum screening interview.

Lord Murray of Blidworth: The implementing measures and processes relating to people falling within the scope of clause 2 of the Illegal Migration Bill will be set out in due course.

Asylum: Interviews

The Lord Bishop of Durham: To ask His Majesty's Government whether there have been any changes to asylum screening interviews since 7 March.

Lord Murray of Blidworth: There have been no changes to the asylum screening interview template since 7 March.

Department of Health and Social Care

Infant Foods: Shortages

Baroness Kingsmill: To ask His Majesty's Government how they planto address the current shortage of baby milk formula.

Lord Markham: The Department maintains close engagement with industry to ensure continued supply across a broad range of products. We are not aware of any significant issues with the supply of infant formula products. Within the infant formula sector, there are multiple suppliers and different types of formula which allows parents to switch to an alternative product or brand if their preferred option is unavailable.

Coronavirus: Immunosuppression

The Lord Bishop of St Albans: To ask His Majesty's Government what measures they are taking to protect clinically extremely vulnerable and immunocompromised people from COVID-19.

Lord Markham: As set out in the Written Ministerial Statement on 30 March 2023, in 2023/24 the Government will maintain a range of capabilities to protect those at higher risk of severe illness from COVID-19. Given the continued effectiveness of vaccines and improved treatments, for most people there is a much lower risk of severe illness compared to earlier in the pandemic.Appropriate levels of testing will remain to support diagnosis for clinical care and treatment and to protect very high-risk individuals and settings. Those who are clinically extremely vulnerable and immunocompromised are part of the group who are eligible for COVID-19 treatments in the community, enabling them easy access to anti-viral treatments. High risk individuals are also part of the priority cohort in line for booster vaccines. The Government will continue to consider the advice of the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation on future vaccine selection and booster programmes for those at greatest risk.The Government will also maintain essential COVID-19 surveillance activities in the community, primary and secondary care, and in high-risk settings.

Healthy Start Scheme

Lord Taylor of Warwick: To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have, if any, to expand the Healthy Start voucher scheme.

Lord Markham: The Department has no plans to expand the Healthy Start scheme. The scheme is kept under continuous review.

Processed Food

Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle: To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the answers by the Minister for Primary Care and Public Health on 17 March and 24 April (HC163765, HC180118, and HC180748), what steps they are taking (1) domestically, and (2) internationally, to produce a “universally agreed definition of ultra-processed foods”.

Lord Markham: The United Kingdom’s Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition (SACN) is currently carrying out a scoping review of the evidence on processed foods and health and aims to publish its initial assessment in July 2023. This will include evaluating existing classifications of processed foods, including ultra-processed foods and the NOVA classification. We are not aware of any plans to agree a definition internationally.

Cancer: Screening

Lord Campbell-Savours: To ask His Majesty's Government what is the national target time for (1) analysis, and (2) assessment, of biopsy results for patients being treated for cancer-related conditions; and what assessment they have made of whether the Royal Berkshire Hospital in Reading is meeting these.

Lord Markham: There is no national target time for analysis and assessment of biopsy results for patients being treated for cancer related conditions.

Rare Diseases: Medical Treatments

Baroness Merron: To ask His Majesty's Government howtheyplan to hold integrated care boards to account on meeting NICE guidelines on the uptake of treatments for people with rare diseases.

Lord Markham: The Care Quality Commission does assess the processes by which providers implement and comply with National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidance, and as part of the future regulatory assessments will consider how Integrated Care Systems and Integrated Care Boards consider and implement NICE guidance and other national guidance on best practice in care and treatment.

Radioisotopes

Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick: To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the reply by the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero on 22 February (HC Deb, col 286), when they expect NHS England to report on its review of NHS trusts’ radiopharmacy services; and whether that report will be made public.

Lord Markham: NHS England is commissioning an internal review of National Health Service trust radiopharmacy services to take stock of facilities and equipment, workforce and capacity. NHS England expects to finish this review by quarter four of 2023/24. This is an internal review and as such NHS England does not intend to publish any report.

Ambulance Services: Motor Vehicles

Baroness Merron: To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Delivery plan for recovering urgent and emergency care services, published in January, what progress they have made in delivering 800 new ambulances and increasing the fleet by 10 per cent.

Baroness Merron: To ask His Majesty's Government how many of the ambulances ordered so far to meet the increase in numbers as set out in theDelivery planfor recovering urgent and emergency care services, published in January, are replacement vehicles.

Lord Markham: All ambulance trusts have now placed their ambulance orders for delivery in the current year, 2023/24, under existing contracts and tenders have been received for mental health ambulances which are being evaluated by NHS England.In total, NHS England expect delivery in 2023/24 of 628 Dual Crew Ambulances, 154 lightweight ambulances, 40 Mental health ambulances and 11 electric ambulances.The timing of the decommissioning of existing vehicles is a matter for individual ambulance trusts. NHS England is working with ambulance trusts to quantify fleet replacement plans as they are firmed up over the coming months.

Department for Business and Trade

India: Legal Profession

Lord Sahota: To ask His Majesty's Government what steps are being taken to promote free movement for lawyers between England and Wales and India, including steps (1) to make visas easier to obtain, and (2) to streamline processes relating to qualifications.

Lord Johnson of Lainston: The ongoing UK-India trade negotiations present an opportunity to facilitate legal services trade which is a key professional and business services sector contributing to over £34bn to the UK economy in 2022.Whilst I am unable to disclose details of live negotiations, as part of extensive stakeholder engagement we know that UK businesses struggle with barriers to services trade, including legal services. Stakeholder input helped to inform our negotiation objectives, which can be found on gov.uk.Outside negotiations, the UK Ministry of Justice is closely engaged with Indian counterparts on shared interests, including India's new legal services regulations, through existing fora.

Department for Business and Trade: Ministerial Duties

Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town: To ask His Majesty's Government what are the ministerial responsibilities ofeach of the three Lords ministers for the Department for Business and Trade.

Lord Johnson of Lainston: I have responsibility for Investment. My noble Friends, the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Lord Offord of Garvel) is the Minister for Exports, and the Minister of State (The Earl of Minto) is the Minister for Regulatory Reform. Further details of each Minister’s responsibilities can be found on the Department’s GOV.UK home page under ‘Our Ministers’: https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/department-for-business-and-trade.

Department for Work and Pensions

Pension Credit

Baroness Altmann: To ask His Majesty's Government what their latest estimate is of the take-up of Pension Credit in the past five years.

Viscount Younger of Leckie: Estimates for Pension Credit take-up in a financial year are available in the “Income-related benefits: estimates of take-up” publication, which can be accessed on the statistics section of gov.uk. Income-related benefits: estimates of take-up: financial year 2019 to 2020 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) The latest estimates for Pension Credit take-up relate to the financial year 2019 to 2020. The table below outlines take-up estimates for this year, and the four years preceding: Financial YearEstimate of Pension Credit take-up2019 to 202066%2018 to 201963%2017 to 201861%2016 to 201761%2015 to 201661% Please note – methodological refinements have been applied to the data from 2016 to 2017. Therefore, comparison to previous years should be treated with caution.

Department for Energy Security and Net Zero

Oil: Imports

Lord West of Spithead: To ask His Majesty's Government how they can ascertain whether oil sold by India to the UK and other countries has not been refined from Russian oil, thereby circumventing sanctions.

Lord Callanan: The import, acquisition, supply and delivery of Russian oil and oil products into the UK has been banned since 5 December 2022. The ban uses the well-established non-preferential rules of origin under which products are regarded as originating from a country if there has been substantial, and economically justified, processing in that jurisdiction. Processing is regarded as substantial if it results in the manufacture of a new product such as the refining of crude oil into fuels. In the three months to February 2023, since the ban came into effect, there has been no marked change in the volume of imports from India compared to the year before.

Oil: Russia

Lord West of Spithead: To ask His Majesty's Government what is their estimate of the percentage of Russian oil as a proportion of all Indian oil imports (1) prior to the invasion of Ukraine on 24 February 2022, and (2) at present.

Lord Callanan: According to the International Energy Agency, Russian oil exports to India totalled 2.1 million barrels a day in March 2023, an increase of 1.7 million barrels a day compared to March 2022. More precise data on international oil flows is observed by the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero but is subject to commercial licensing agreements and cannot be published by the Department.

Department for Transport

Great British Railways

Baroness Randerson: To ask His Majesty's Government whether it remains their policy to introduce Great British Rail; and if so, which aspects of the policies set out in theGreat British Railways: Williams-Shapps plan for railcan be introduced without primary legislation.

Baroness Vere of Norbiton: In February, the Secretary of State set out his vision for a customer-focused, commercially led industry, with the creation of Great British Railways (GBR) as the guiding mind for the sector. Derby was announced as the location for the GBR Headquarters in March. We are working closely with the Great British Railways Transition Team (GBRTT) and the sector and will progress legislation when parliamentary time allows. Ahead of legislation, many reforms and tangible benefits for rail users can be delivered, including workforce reform, the rollout of Pay-As-You-Go ticketing, simplifying fares, building local partnerships, as well as the publication of the first draft of the Long-Term Strategy for Rail.

Railways: Timetables

Baroness Randerson: To ask His Majesty's Government for what reasons Network Rail is proposing to reduce the timetable publication requirement from 12 to 8 weeks; and what assessment they have made of the impact of this change on passengers booking advance tickets and event organisers.

Baroness Vere of Norbiton: Network Rail is seeking to reduce the time it takes to produce rail timetables to improve the industry's ability to respond more quickly to changes in demand patterns. This would mean that final timetables are published 8 weeks in advance rather than 12 weeks as they are currently required to do. Network Rail has been working with operators to develop systems that would enable provisional timetables to be published earlier to facilitate advance ticket booking. Plans for this change have not been finalised. The plans would require a change to the Network Licence Conditions for Network Rail. As the regulator, the Office of Rail and Road will be undertaking a formal public consultation which will enable it to take public views into account when making its decision about the licence change.

Euston Station: Trees

Lord Blencathra: To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer byBaroness Vere of Norbiton on 9 May (HL7361), what is their reason for cutting down the trees adjacent to the taxi rank at Euston Station; what works in particular necessitated cutting those trees; and at what future date those works are scheduled to take place.

Baroness Vere of Norbiton: The trees adjacent to the taxi rank at Euston station were removed in February 2023 to enable the diversions of utilities, piling for the London Underground Interchange, and civil engineering work for the Euston Square link.

Department for Science, Innovation and Technology

Research and Science

Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick: To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to support young and emerging scientists, including those whose research is contributing to the treatment and eradication of malaria and other infectious diseases.

Viscount Camrose: Early-career researchers are at the heart of securing the UK’s place as a global science superpower, and that is why the Government is working with UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) on a New Deal for Postgraduate Research. As part of this work, UKRI recently announced a 5.4% uplift to the minimum stipend for UKRI-funded students for the academic year 2023/24. UKRI’s Medical Research Council (MRC) invests around £85 million annually to support around 1,600 PhD students. The MRC Unit at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine was awarded £2.8 million between 2022-2027 to fund studentships, with the majority focused on infectious diseases, including malaria.